A new way to measure hurricanes using earthquake-monitoring equipment could improve storm forecasting, support public safety, and enhance understanding of Earth’s atmosphere.

Imperial College London and Arup pioneer a new approach to designing tall buildings that uses the building's own weight to reduce movement in high winds and earthquakes. Inspired by traditional Japanese pagodas, it makes towers safer while cutting carbon and construction costs.

A new study spearheaded by the Ateneo de Manila University VORTEX Research Lab and the Manila Observatory together with PAGASA and Tokyo Metropolitan University may pave the way for accurately forecasting heavy monsoon rains up to several days in advance.

SAN ANTONIO — August 5, 2026 — A new study led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) provides evidence that liquid nitrogen is rising to Pluto’s surface through cracks in the northern edge of the Sputnik Planitia, part of the massive heart-shaped glacier on the dwarf planet’s surface. This is the first evidence of liquid recently flowing on Pluto. The study is based on data from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft and is led by SwRI Associate Vice President Dr. Alan Stern, the principal investigator of the New Horizons mission.

Kyoto, Japan -- The space around Earth is becoming increasingly crowded, with thousands of satellites and pieces of debris now sharing low Earth orbit. Even above this region -- at altitudes of several hundred kilometers -- the extremely thin upper atmosphere can slow satellites down, making accurate information on atmospheric density essential for predicting satellite motion and preventing collisions.

The upper atmosphere is composed of more than 99 percent electrically neutral atmosphere called the thermosphere, and thermospheric density is the term used to describe neutral atmospheric density at heights from 100 to 1000 kilometers above the Earth's surface. While the ionized gas of the ionosphere makes up less than 1 percent of the atmosphere, the effect of the ionized gas on radio wave propagation renders the ionosphere relatively easy to observe, while thermospheric observations pose a considerable challenge.

Nonetheless, developing observation methods for thermospheric density is essential both to further advancing the science of the upper atmosphere and for applications in space engineering. These needs inspired a team of researchers at Kyoto University to develop a new method of visualizing this elusive environment.